The young Sikh couple is back home in Mohali

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The young Sikh couple is back home in Mohali

In early July this year, a video of a young Sikh couple in UK, flashing a Chandigarh registered number plate, became the talk of the town. At that time, this husband-wife duo had reached UK from Chandigarh, en route their road trip to Canada, titled by them as 'Sikh Odyssey'. Two months later, the couple are back home in Mohali on Thursday, where they recounted their journey from Chandigarh to Canada in 170 days in their car. They left Chandigarh on March 22, 2018 and spanning 30 countries, they came back on September 13.
For Prabhsimran Singh, 26 and his wife Jasleen Kaur, married for less than two years, it was their road trip in New Zealand in 2016 that gave them courage to take to the long road to Canada. "That was our first road trip, where we drove to the whole of North and South Island," says Prabhsimran who is a businessman, "When we returned home, we decided to undertake at least one road trip every month in India."
Having travelled the length and breadth of India, the couple decided, "why don't we take our Chandigarh di gaddi to other countries now," says Prabh. However, this voyage to Canada proved far more daunting in its planning stage than their previous journeys.

The young Sikh couple is back home in Mohali .... @JaspreetTOI @etimes @kshitij_17 https://t.co/ODXxmZ1wCW

"It took us one year to plan the trip. While four-five months were taken up in checking the feasibility of the journey by car, the remaining time in the year was consumed in permissions, visas etc." Jasleen was the perfect navigator, who also took over as the driver at several points. A gold medalist in engineering from UIET, Panjab University, Jasleen was equally excited about the trip with her husband. "We spent 170 days together, a time period which is tough to take out in routine life as husbands and wives pursue their respective chores and professions," says Jasleen, who is currently pursuing Ph.D from PU, "The kind of growth we experienced, not just as husband and wife, but also as individuals in these 170 days, is equivalent to the wisdom people acquire after several years."

They borrowed the term ‘Sikh Odyssey’ from the Punjabi and Hindi word Udasi, which is based on Guru Nanak's journeys that he undertook by foot. "Our journey would not have been possible with permission from guruji, and support of our parents," says Jasleen. The couple also made it their mission to visit every gurudwara along their road.

With their best moments being, receiving the warmth of people across the world as "people from every country spoke to us about the journey and showed affection," their toughest challenge was crossing the infamous China-Kazakhstan border. "That was an ordeal that took 20 hours. It's a politically disturbed border and touches seven-eight countries. We have to take clearance from every country which is time consuming," adds Prabh.

Though he has seen Canada on previous occasions owing to his business that takes him there and sister's education, Prabh says the 10,000km drive within Canada earned them new friends and forged familial bonds. Their take away from this journey? "Each country has its own diversity and natural beauty. Smaller countries like Iceland and larger ones like China and Canada are the most scenic. Yet, it is the warmth of human nature, debunking of conceptions of unsafe roads, and the alienation of people as foreigners in other nations, that was the highlight of this trip."

The couple took the route: From India they exited from Imphal and took the onward route- Thailand- Laos- China (where they stayed for 17 days)- Central Asia- Uzbekistan, Kirgizstan, Kazakhstan- Russia- Europe- UK- Iceland- Canada. They made their return journey by air and their car was shipped back home.

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